


Bitter Cold

by PrintDust



Category: Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Hiatus, LoRick, Season 2, Season 3, Winter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-16
Updated: 2013-08-16
Packaged: 2017-12-23 15:52:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/928336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrintDust/pseuds/PrintDust
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Do you think we will find somewhere to stop tonight?" she asked, looking out her window. She found that if she didn't look at him while she spoke he would be more likely to answer her questions. No luck this time; the car remained still and quiet. Lori/Rick</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bitter Cold

The car was freezing. There was something wrong with the heating block and they could all see their breath hanging in the air. Beth, Hershel, and Carol were bundled up in the backseat behind Lori who was curled up on the passenger's side. The thin blanket that she had wrapped around her wasn't doing much to hold her body heat and her toes were going numb in her boots. They'd had their first snowfall yesterday and had been caught unprepared.

They'd wound up drenched before they'd found shelter and she was still feeling the effects of it.

She laid her forehead against the window and sighed with relief as the cold glass cooled her burning skin. She hadn't mentioned feeling sick to the rest of the group - they had enough to worry about - but she was pretty sure they all knew. It was hard to hide the rattling in her chest and the coughing fits that had plagued her all night.

Lori's hand drifted down to rest on her rounded belly. The baby was growing despite the malnutrition and she was grateful for the sign that it was still alive. She'd begun to feel butterfly movements that made her smile despite everything else that was going on. She wanted to tell Rick, but every time she tried to talk to him he'd brush her off and tell her to talk to Hershel.  
She looked over at her husband now. He looked as tired as you would expect from someone who had been driving all day. He rarely slept anymore and his skin had turned ashen. She wanted to reach out to him but she couldn't take the sting of rejection. Not tonight when she was already worried about how being sick would affect the baby.

"Do you think we will find somewhere to stop tonight?" she asked, looking out her window. She found that if she didn't look at him while she spoke he would be more likely to answer her questions. No luck this time; the car remained still and quiet.  
Lori had to pee, and the cold and jostling car weren't helping. Rick wouldn't be happy if she asked him to stop while it was so dark out. The road was lined with trees on both sides and there were too many Walkers in the forest. When she shifted for the third time she felt her seat jerk as Carol used it to pull herself forward. The other woman leaned over the seat to talk into her ear.

"Why don't you recline a bit?" she suggested.

Lori shook her head. "And take up your leg space, nuh uh."

Carol patted her shoulder. "Come on. You need to get some rest and your back must be getting sore sitting like that for so long." She sat back again, disappearing into the shadows over Lori's shoulder.

Lori pursed her lips and reached for the lever. She dropped the seat back a few clicks and almost sighed with relief. The new position took the pressure off her back and her bladder. "Thanks," she whispered and Carol hummed in response.

She snuggled further into the seat and closed her eyes.

Just as she was falling asleep her breath snagged in her lungs and she was startled awake as a coughing fit sent her body into spasms. The fit seemed to last a long time and she took a deep breath when it finally subsided.

"Hershel checked out that cough?" A gravelly voice asked from beside her. She turned to look at her husband, stunned that he had actually initiated a conversation. He gave an impatient sigh when she didn't answer and she cleared her throat.

"Hmm?" she asked, trying to remember what he had asked her.

"The cough," Rick said again, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye.

"I'm fine," she insisted, turning to look at the snow-covered trees. His voice sounded colder than the air outside and it made her shiver. She missed the smooth and caring tone he used to use.

"That's not what I asked you," he sighed in annoyance. "Did he check it?" He went back to staring straight ahead at the pickup truck's taillights. "Jesus Lori, can't you ever just answer a question?"

Her retort started and died in the back of her throat and she found herself fighting back tears. She shook her head. Her throat felt like someone was choking her and she didn't know if she could speak around the constriction.

"See to it," her husband squinted at the darkness around them. His voice was weary and he tapped the break. The pickup was flashing its right indicator and he turned to look at the small hunting store that sat back into the trees. He flashed his lights and their convoy pulled across the road toward the abandoned building. "Chest sounds like you're makin' coffee," he said after he had guided the car safely into the spot behind the pickup.

Lori nodded and stayed in her seat as the rest of the group piled out of the vehicle. When she was alone she buried her face into her blanket and let the first hot tear slide down her cheek. It was cold by the time it reached her chin.

Everything was so cold.


End file.
